WNY Natives Describe Living In Area Near North Korea

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- With the threat increasing from North Korea, Western New York families with loved ones living in East Asia are paying extra close attention to the rogue nation.

Lyndsay Gallivan is a Lancaster High School and UB graduate now teaching in Seoul, South Korea. She said her family and friends back here in Western New York are more worried than she is.

"I tell them to relax and that if I find out I should be scared, I have options to leave," Lyndsay said. "The place that I work for will support that if I want to go if it gets dangerous and help me leave if I need to."

Lyndsay said she and other U.S. citizens get updates from the American Embassy in Seoul, which will help them leave the area if the need arises.

For now, she said life is going on as normal.

It's a similar story in the U.S. territory of Guam, according to Town of Holland native Rachel Fuller. She moved to the island with her husband, who is stationed at a Navy base.

Rachel said American servicemen and women are paying the most attention to the crisis with North Korea, not so much due to the direct threat, but more because of the U.S. military involvement that could result from any North Korean attack.